I know that it sometimes seems like the MamaPop writers are just trying to turn this into a fan site for Louis CK, but he just keeps doing awesome things. What are we supposed to do?
Anyway. The bread and butter for most performers is touring. That’s where a lot of money can be made and where performers can actually start earning for their work. Consequently, live performance tickets can be really expensive, since so many costs have to be built into them. But at what point do things get too expensive? At what point are you just taking money from your fans?
Louis CK reached that point when planning his upcoming tour. In an email that he sent out to his fan list (which I’m on, duh) on Monday, June 25, he explained that he realized that he’s making enough money touring that he can afford to focus on making tickets less expensive for his fans. He decided to do this by selling tickets through his own site for a flat fee of $45.
There were some drawbacks to this method, mainly that not all venues were willing to work with CK on this venture so some cities are absent on the tour this time around (LIKE PITTSBURGH BUT IT’S COOL I’M NOT MAD). But CK was encouraged by how well his most recent comedy special, Live at the Beacon Theater, sold through his site instead of through distributors and decided it was worth a try.
I think the results speak for themselves:
Of course, this was at 6 p.m. yesterday, so we can only assume that ticket sales have continued to impress. CK also noted that he hasn’t seen any tickets for any of his shows appear on sites like StubHub, which is good. Another method of insuring that prices would stay low is discouraging scalping: tickets sold anywhere online for a higher price would get cancelled.
Another thing that I just think is so great about this is that Louis CK just deserves this kind of success. He may piss people off and offend Greta van Susteren from time to time, but I don’t think anyone can argue with his talent and his hard work. Dude is a machine, coming up with all new, brilliant material every year. I take myself on vacation if I compose a witty tweet every once in awhile, you know? Not every performer can expect these same results because not every performer has the same caliber of product to offer.
Also, if you weren’t feeling like enough of a slouch already, the third sesason CK’s amazing series, Louie, which he writes, directs, stars in, produces, and even edits (for the first two seasons, anyway) all on his own premieres tonight on FX. His comedic take on parenting in Louie and in his live shows is just amazing, especially how he balances his frustrations with his daughters with his wonderment at their existence. I can’t wait to see what he’ll offer up this season.
About Kelly Delaney
